Accelerate Your Life

[funlvnman]

A friend sent me this. Hope you enjoy it




ACCELERATION PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE

* One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first
4 rows at NASCAR's Daytona 500...

* Under full throttle, a dragster engine will consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded Boeing
747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate but with 25% less energy being produced.

* A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger. (Note: the new Chrysler Hemi is not a true hemi. It is only a "Hemi" because Chrysler has the trademark on the name and chooses to call this engine a "Hemi")

* With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lockup at full throttle.

* At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.

* Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

* Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each sparkplug, which is typically the output of an electric arc welder in each cylinder.

* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass.

*After 1/2 way thru the run, the engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the glow of the exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow....

* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with enough force sufficient to blow the cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half!!

* Top fuel dragsters reach over 300 MPH +... before you have completed reading this sentence.

* In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a dragster must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration approaches 8 G's.

* Top Fuel engines turn approximately 675 revolutions from light to light!

* Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 9000 revolutions under load.

* The red line is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

* THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid for, the pit crew is working for free, & NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an estimated $1000 per second.

0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run)

0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run)

6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land)

6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin 'chutes at
300 MPH

An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth. . Quicker than a jet fighter plane.... quicker than the space shuttle.... or snapping your fingers!!

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher).

So, in summary... Let's now put this all into perspective: Imagine this.... You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to 'launch' down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard, on up through the gears and blast across the starting line, and pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster departs & starts after you. You keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming whine that sears and pummels your eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the dragster effortlessly catches & passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH.... and it not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race !!!!

That my friend..... is acceleration!

[RB51]

I think I'll stay walking, thanks...

Laurie

[Old Hippie]

165 mph on two wheels is enough for me.

I love speed. It's the sudden stops I hate.

My favourite racing story was written by my "little brother" Dan -- really a good friend who also loves motorcycles. We just look alike, so people think we're related. His mother and mine seem to love us both equally.

Anyway, Dan Sorenson on the fearsome Spagthorpe Dauntless, my favourite motorcycle of all time (from the Spagthorpe Motorcycles website):

"My Cushman was idling at the stop light and here comes an all-black Spagthorpe Dauntless. It was so named because, with that high-powered supercharged 2-stroke motor and the nimble handling provided by 8” tires, both the scooter and the rider could not let a trace of fear into their hearts.

Well, that was the line, anyway. I certainly wasn't afraid -- the Cushman was short on power, but my foe was wearing aviator goggles and a leather baseball cap, so I knew him to be a new rider incapable of judging the lights.

When the light turned green, I let off the brake (the motor was wide open, but the Cushman brake was able to restrain all 5 HP) and took the hole shot. For the next block I watched the Spagthorpe rider kick his scooter back into life, he having dumped the clutch and not bothered with getting the motor anywhere above 1500rpm. I was set for a perfect victory, and visions of champagne and scantily-clad women filled my eyes. I should have watched the mirrors instead.

Suddenly I was passed by this black streak, and the Cushman sputtered to a stop. As I sat, wondering what the matter might be, I was passed by several fire trucks, apparently all headed towards that inferno three blocks distant. Only later was I able to piece together what had happened.

The Spagthorpe passing me had created such a vacuum that it literally sucked the air out of the carburator on my Cushman. This is what caused it to die.

Spagthorpe was never known for incredible braking, however, and post-accident investigations show that the belt-drive on the supercharger broke. Thus, the rider closed the throttle, the supercharger spun free, and at least 30psi of boost opened the carburator butterfly. This was a known trait on the supercharged models, but one most riders could live with. The poor rider of that particular model swerved around obstructions for three blocks before his wide-open motor dropped a rod and the hot oil ignited the gasoline tank, which explains the inferno. The rider, however, merely side-stepped through the EZ-Ryder frame and was unscathed.

There are few surviving examples of this Scooter From Hell, and perhaps this is as it should be. Had I been able to acquire one, not only would I have won the race, I wouldn't be here today telling my tale of losing, and liking it, to a Spagthorpe Dauntless."

:ootd:

[WeaselMender]

Yoy are both evil heartless men reminding a former strip and strip junkie of his addiction to horespower and speed!! This is even worse than kilts!!!!!!!!! There must be a meeting around here!

Weasel :ootd: